This blog is about spiritual awakening, maps and stages, the blinding effects of our strong momentum/conditioning (karmic propensities), view, realization, experience, etc. If you're new here, I recommend going through the 'Must Reads' articles (see sidebar). For discussions you are welcome to join the Awakening to Reality Facebook group

Translate

Ads 300 x 600

Recent Posts

It
seems like you are describing some very advanced perceptual shifts.
However, it seems sort of difficult given that I am not quite sure what
definition of 'emptiness' that you or the Tibetans may be using. I've
see that word thrown around in so many different contexts, that it has
become unhlpful.

Some people here seem to be experiencing
reality in such a way, that the Tibetans would say that they achieved
the same results (Daniel mentions this on his essay in Actualism). It's
pretty interesting.

I replied:

MCTB 4th path and PCE (or rather the state of Actual Freedom as discussed in http://actualfreedom.com.au/) was my constant state before I dwelled more deeply into
Emptiness. 4th Path actually deals with Emptiness as well but the
emphasis is on the yogic realization/experience of the absence of a
subject, self/Self, controller, agent, knower, doer, etc, and
furthermore the complete stability of this insight such that it becomes
the constant mode of perception in every moment of experience. However,
there is also the emptiness of the 'objects' front, which is not merely
the collapsing of subject and object dichotomy, but realizing the
'nature' of this non-dual presence (which is already emptied of any
subject or background). It pertains to the non-arising of the foreground
appearance, but not through deconstruction.

For example looking
at the very solid vision of floor in a PCE mode with no
self/Self/experiencer whatsoever just brilliant colors shining as its
own vivid clarity, and we raise a question of how does 'emptiness' direct apply to
this, it can suddenly become clear that there is no floor there at all,
no floor to be found anywhere, only a shimmering appearance, flickering
patches of luminous brown with nothing arising at all, and then the
meaning of appearing yet non-arising, appearance negates existence as it
relates to the nature of presence (by Presence I don't mean a Self, or a
Being, etc, but whatever vivid appearance as it presents itself
dynamically) became clear. This unfindability and non-arising nature of
Presence/Appearance is its true nature. It is not "impermanent,
flickering in and out" that is its emptiness but the very non-arising of
the whole field of manifestation due to its lacking of any essence
whatsoever by its sheer appearance, where the very mere appearance by
its very fact of merely appearing negates existence.

It is not by
deconstruction, and it is not by subsuming everything to some ultimate
Mind/Consciousness/etc. That metaphysical illusion is completely gone by
the time the self/Self illusion is dropped through anatta realization
and actualization, as Actual Freedom teachings point out. There is no
such thing as an unborn undying metaphysical substrate or consciousness
behind phenomena, that belongs to the lower stages like Thusness Stage 1
to 4:
http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2007/03/thusnesss-six-stages-of-experience.html
-- in Advaita the illusoriness of phenomena is posited through the
subsuming of phenomena to an ultimate source and substratum (which truly
exists) in the manner of 'necklaces of different shapes being
fundamentally only gold', this is not the same insight as Stage 5 and 6.
At the peak of the subsuming or essentialist type of non-dual, the
subject/object division collapses into a seamless field of awareness and
yet awareness is felt to be ultimate, unchanging, having an Absolute
metaphysical essence yet undivided with manifestation (Thusness Stage
4). The kind of Emptiness insight I'm talking about however is
completely non-essentialist, non-substantialist, non-metaphysical, and
non-referential.

By Emptiness and the Non-Arising of phenomena I
mean the very appearance does not arise even for a flickering moment,
does not arise/abide/subside for even an instant, but its very
appearance itself rejects the illusion of the appearance existing by its
own essence and undergoing (even a flickering moment of)
arising/abiding/subsiding. Conventionally, appearance which does not
exist inherently, appears only by way of
interrelatedness/interdependence, and in yogic actualization of
emptiness-appearance, everything appears as being equal to space and
illusions like mirage, holograms, reflections, and the like in a
seamlessly interconnected suchness (but not even the concept of
'dependent origination' remains in this actualization).

The
as-it-isness or suchness of anatta becomes even more as-it-is in the
manner of any subtle non-recognition of the non-arising, empty nature of
presence (misperceiving presence as truly arising/abiding/ceasing or
‘truly there’) released into the as-it-isness/suchness of shimmering
holographic illusions through the recognition of its non-arising, which
leads to actualizing of emptiness as forms in a direct and
non-conceptual manner. This illusion-like nature of aggregates is most
often taught in Mahayana sutras, but you find similar teachings by
Buddha in the Pali Canon such as Dhammapada, Phena Sutta on the
illusoriness of the aggregates, and Kaccayanagotta sutta explains how
dependent origination negates 'existence' and 'non-existence' as it
relates to the 'world'.
For the emptiness part check out
http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2007/03/thusnesss-six-stages-of-experience.html
,
http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2009/03/on-anatta-emptiness-and-spontaneous.html

Not
only no who, but truly no it, no there, no here, no now, no when, no where, no
arising, no ceasing, no abiding or place of abidance. Coming to rest in
the nature of presence with no place to rest, whole field of
spontaneous illusory display emerges as empty-clarity-bliss.

Soh Wei YuIt
starts with the very vivid "Presence" (or you can call it Awareness or
Clarity) that is simply shining as the very vividness of forms, sounds,
thoughts, whatever appears, as the subject/object or perceiver/perceived
dichotomy has collapsed into a non-conceptual experience of the
vividness of whatever manifests with zero sense of distance. There is no
more standalone Presence or Awareness or Clarity in anatta. The
illusion of a background Self/Mind has been penetrated. Even so, the
very empty nature of 'foreground Presence' may not yet reveal itself
initially.

Let's say you're looking at the floor, or
a table, or whatever it is. It seems very solid and real, but then upon
some investigation it's realised to be merely appearing without
substance or essence, and that happens to be the very nature of Presence
-- vividly appearing according to conditions but completely empty of
anything 'there', empty of an 'it-ness' or 'floor-ness' or any sort of
substance. Basically it's sort of like suddenly an apparent figure
you've been looking at or talking to is suddenly realised to be literally a
hologram. The very nature of Presence as merely appearing without
substance basically negates the extreme of existence.

For
me the nature of Presence reveals in a more experiential sort of
examination rather than through analytical reasonings. Like what
Thusness wrote in his article http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/.../on-anatta... "On Anatta (No-Self), Emptiness, Maha and Ordinariness, and Spontaneous Perfection",

"If
we observe thought and ask where does thought arise, how does it arise,
what is ‘thought’ like. 'Thought' will reveal its nature is empty --
vividly present yet completely un-locatable. It is very important not to
infer, think or conceptualise but feel with our entire being this
‘ungraspability’ and 'unlocatability'. It seems to reside 'somewhere'
but there is no way to locate it. It is just an impression of somewhere
"there" but never "there". Similarly “here-ness” and “now-ness” are
merely impressions formed by sensations, aggregates of causes and
conditions, nothing inherently ‘there’; equally empty like ‘selfness’."ManageLike · Reply · 1m · EditedSoh Wei YuThat
said not everyone uses or likes the term "Presence". Tsongkhapa doesn't
use that term. You can substitute that for other terms like "dharma"
etc, it's just the empty and luminously clear nature of the display.

Foreground emptying has this taste where appearance negates existence.

...........

Update:

I was asked what is the direct insight of emptiness.

I wrote:

The insight is how presence/appearance appears yet never truly exists
(i.e. by way of inherent existence), like truly there... instead it's
just mere substanceless appearance. Instead of essence, we see dependent
origination.

It's an insight into seeing how 'essence' does not apply, not only to
background/self but to foreground/presence/phenomena, therefore
arising/abiding/ceasing also don't apply.

Because of this, there's no way to locate or pin down anything anywhere,
therefore all the where, now, here, there don't apply, as pinning down
something as 'there' requires the essence view.

It is not just an experience of all reality as 'dream-like' (this
experience can arise by linking what appears to one's radiance) but a
direct insight that overturns the wrong view of phenomena as having
essence in the same manner as the direct insight into anatta overturns
the wrong view of self or consciousness as having essence existing by
its own side.

p.s More writings on Emptiness from the experiential yogic insight point of view:

It's talking about nature of mind, not Self. I don't know what translation you're reading, it's certainly distorted. Don't read translations by Evans-Wentz, it is outdated and very inaccurate. Read the newer translations.

You can realize the nature of mind and actualize it any moment, no need to wait for death. I am the living example and so are many other living masters and practitioners.

"mind" = "citta" / "manas" / "vijnana" / etc. --> stream of momentarily arising and ceasing states of consciousness, thus not an entity, each of which is conditioned by sense organ, sense object and preceding mental states

Neither are material.

That's a brief overview, lot's of things to nit pick at, but otherwise it'll require a 1000 page monograph to make everyone happy.

You'll need to study up on "dependent origination" (pratitya-samutpada) to get into any depth to answer your questions.